Taormina Restaurant Advice

[1happyfam]

I have my day in Taormina pretty much figured out, but was wondering if anyone can reccomend a good place to eat? Not too touristy.:)

 

Lee Anne:)

[macaroni]

I have a great place for you, but need to look up the name when I get home from work. It has great pizza and pastas. Reasonable and some outside as well as inside tables. It is right outside the arch that leads to the main road in Taormina.

[1happyfam]

Sounds perfect, I'll check back tonight to see if you found the name.

Lee Anne:)

[macaroni]

Trochero- Spaghetti with pepperoncino and the gnocchi with butter and sage were fantastic. Pizzas great. A nice casual place. For Seafood, Grotto Azzure was excellent but whenever I go back to Taormina, the one place I have to go to is Trochero.

[1happyfam]

Thank you so much the food sounds amazing!

Lee Anne

[glsebs]

I can second the nomination of Grotto Azure. We ate lunch there last week on our port day in Taormina....it was delicious with friendly service and definitely not touristy. It is on a side street....great pasta vongole and fresh seafood and moderately priced as well.

Enjoy!

[1happyfam]

glsebs, thanks for the info. Did you find Taormina easy to navigate on your own??

Lee Anne

[maja]

Taormina is extremely easy to navigate on your own. Basically a main road with thin winding alleys to explore if you wish. We just got back last week & Taormina was one of our fav. stops, and authentic till it got packed with tourists so try and get there ahead of the crowds. I was armed with a list of recommended restaurants and ended up eating a fabulous lunch at a local's place. Don't have the name, but easy to find. At the base of the main street that runs through Taormina is an area where all vehicles must stop. Look up the main street and take the first street on your right. It's up a steep hill. There's a fancy restaurant with lots of outdoor tables on that corner. About 1/2 way up the hill, you'll see a small trattoria on your left. If you want real Sicilian food, this is the place. They even bake their own bread. We both had a great lunch with wine for less than 10E, which is about what we were paying for 2 cups of espresso elsewhere in Italy!! If you would like, I can look at a map and get the name of the street. Have a great trip.

[LovesSicily]

We can strongly recommend Giovanni's at the Porta Catania end of Corso Umberto and, if you go up the first street off the little square, on the left side, is Don Camillo's, both truly excellent Sicilian trattorias. A word of caution on Grotto Azure, we have had two experiences with "padded bills". The first time, maybe it's a mistake but when it happened a second time, not a mistake. We do not eat there anymore. It is in a touristy restaurant section. That's not to say it is not a great seafood restaurant but...

[1happyfam]

Maja and lovesSicily, thanks for the advice. Maja could Don Camillos be the same trattoria you were mentioning? Also what were both of your favorite to dos while there?

Lee Anne:)

[LovesSicily]

We rent an apartment in Taormina for a week to two weeks just about every year. We never get tired of the view from the Greco Roman Theatre. The public garden has a fantastic view and some very interesting architectural elements and a great place to find some shade and relax. If you have the time you can walk up to Madonna della Roca above Taormina (and slightly above and next to the little church are the ruins of a Saracen castle). There are numerous sidewalk cafes including the more famous Mocambo for afternoon drinks. Also, scattered throughout Taormina are many Roman ruins. We also do day trips throughout the island. After that, our most favorite thing is sitting on our balcony looking at Mt. Etna and the Ionian.

[1happyfam]

We rent an apartment in Taormina for a week to two weeks just about every year. We never get tired of the view from the Greco Roman Theatre. The public garden has a fantastic view and some very interesting architectural elements and a great place to find some shade and relax. If you have the time you can walk up to Madonna della Roca above Taormina (and slightly above and next to the little church are the ruins of a Saracen castle). There are numerous sidewalk cafes including the more famous Mocambo for afternoon drinks. Also, scattered throughout Taormina are many Roman ruins. We also do day trips throughout the island. After that, our most favorite thing is sitting on our balcony looking at Mt. Etna and the Ionian.

Thank you, yes we have a nice long port time here so I can add extra sightseeing. How lucky to have spent two weeks there, from all the pictures I feel like I'm going to want to revisit every port!!

[sunapee]

I have read that the walk to the roman greco theatre is both long and steep. I have difficulty walking ...is it really bad?

[LovesSicily]

The street leading up to the theatre is a moderate incline. Inside there are many steep steps necessary to reach the top of the theater. You can accessthe ground level with a very minimum of steps and will still have very scenic views overlooking Taormina, Mt. Aetna and the Ionian plus the theatre ruins (and some shade).